Gary,
I just caught something on the CBS evening news on Monday evening about the latest hip replacement procedure. It is a partial replacement, they put a metal cap in the end of each of the bones instead of doing a complete replacement. They say the healing time is much faster and because it is still mostly your own bone structure, it is supposed to be much stronger. Next time you see Guy Grasso, talk with him, I know for sure that he has at least one of his hips replaced, along with both knees.
Don Norquist

Stoney,
I was confused about Mike's shot because somewhere I read that it landed in someon'e backyard. Knowing the Mike hits right handed I naturally assumed that it was on the same field that Danny hit those two bombs with my 585.
My knee is not getting any better. I have been told that I am bone on bone, that I am a prime candidate for knee replacement surgery. I have arguably the best orthopedic surgeon in Northeast Florida. He told me that he would not want me playing any more softball if he replaces my knee. He suggests a knee brace until I am ready to quit for good. I guess I will try the brace. I have been hitting on a limited basis with the Hollis brothers ( great guys by the way) , but until I get the brace, I am unable to really swing the way I can. Call me one of these days.
Don

Einstein, (Joe) , thanks for the Post! It really made me homesick. I'd like to know a little more about the bomb that Mike hit. Which light pole was it closest to? My son "Dan" hit with you guys one day last summer, do you remember? Well, last spring Dan hit two balls in a row between the left and left center light poles on that same field, one off the roof of the house, and the other in the top of the tree in the same yard. ( Steve Hurd and Stoney were there too). I checked the length and came up with a distance in excess of 500 feet. I saw Mike Burbank hit another ball in Palm Springs( and it was a SOCK, 40 Cor. ) in excess of 450 feet. Mike Burbank could hit with a broomstick! And no one hits the ball higher than Rick Perez. And you say he also cleared that wall. Way to go Rick!! I wish I had been able to be there to see those bombs.

Desert Guy, I read your post, then I re-read it again and again. You have eloquently said what many others have thought and said (or tried to say) .
Sometime back in June, after Gary 19 insulted me I too "called him out". At that point I decided that I would no longer respond to anything that he had to say. He brought this upon himself. He can't and won't ever stop with the name calling. Witness half of the posts on this thread alone! So, I am with you too, Lecak, Fred Scerra, Tater50.
Don Norquist

In my opinion the best way to deal with this problem is to completely ignore it. It should be treated as a blank space. Read it if you want, but just consider the source, and don't waste any more of your time and energy on it.

"To Mask or not to Mask", that is the question. The answer is yes, we should! Why should we? Here's why:
Softball has been around since before the turn of the 20th century. I recently had the pleasure of walking through the USSSA hall of fame, and there is a section there on the history of softball. Very interesting stuff. They have examples of the very first balls and bats. You did not need protective equipment to play softball then. Even when I started playing softball in the late 60's you did not need protective equipment to pitch. We were still using wood bats and cork center wound balls. In Minnesota we played on 275 foot fences. It still took a special man to hit the ball out of the park. Sadly, that game is just a memory now. I can remember the first aluminum bats. They revolutionized the game, suddenly I was no longer an occasional home run hitter, but a real threat to hit it out every time I came to the plate. It has been a natural progression. Single wall bats, then titanium bats, double wall bats, then composites. And of course the balls have changed right along with the bats. As Stoneman points out, the balls just keep going faster and faster, it is only a matter of time until there is serious injury to someone who is supposed to be playing a game for recreation. And the scary part is that bad things usually happen in threes. As much as I hate to think about it, I am personally in favor of mandatory protection on pitchers. One of the most macho players I can think of ( Mr. Mike Burbank) wears a mask, chest protector, and shin guards to pitch. If it is good enough for him, it is good enough for me too. Whatever it takes to keep playing.

I have been doing some research, and have been talking with anyone who will talk with me about this. I was turned on to a web site called kneereplacement.com and I saw that it was an advertised site from Johnson & Johnson. They state on that site that there is a world class marathon runner (female) that has their knee. She has been running on it for some length of time and they are saying she will get at least 15 years out of it. That sounds really promising to me. Much more research is needed however. ( this scares me to death) I have been hitting once a week with the Hollis Appraisals guys from Jacksonville, and one of them told me his wife has had two knees done by the same doctor I am seeing ( the same one, apparently the first one broke!) So there is some cause for alarm.
I genuinely feel for anyone who is going through this like I am, Mine is so bad I am having trouble walking much less playing. And I can't sleep all night either.
The doctor is telling me that the brace he has prescribed will help to straighten out the knee ( I am also getting bow-legged) and relieve the pressure form the inside part of the knee that is without cushion. He says that will alleviate some of the pain. We will see. All I can say is I will keep everyone posted when I get the brace.

I too am extremely interested in this subject. I am currently experiencing extreme pain in my left knee, I had an arthroscopy done recently and the doctor told me I am bone on bone, (ostioarthritis??) . Anyway, apparently the only way to stop the pain is knee replacement. When I informed my doctor that I wasn't interested in stopping with softball he told me that he thought I should hold off on the knee replacement until I was ready to do so. He has ordered a special brace for the knee at this point. I haven't got the brace yet, as it comes from California and I am in St. Augustine, Florida. I would like to hear from any other senior players that have had replacement done. I know of one man in Las Vegas who has two knees, a hip, and a pace maker and he is still bangin' it at 75 years old.

Hey, do you want my two cents here?
I happen to agree with both of you on this one!
I have already put Stoney's suggestions to practice,
But I do agree with Joe on this one.
Stoney, I miss the afternoon hitting sessions.

Gary 19, that last post is going to cost you! You know how you have been advocating the confront the person who has offended? Well, I am Don Norquist. I live in St. Augustine Florida, I am not currently affiliated with any Senior Softball team at the moment, but I will be soon. If you are the man that you think you are, you will post your name and the team you play for. I am sure that somewhere sometime our paths will cross. Then you and I can have our face to face meeting and I will show you how much of a "Wuss" I am. The only post from you that I will ever respond to is your name, your team, and your city.
Sincerely,
Don Norquist
Norq44

Einstein and Stoneman, you men came to the same conclusion that I did. I decided that any further attempts at communicating with Gary 19 were a complete waste of my time. Therfore I stopped. But you guys keep up the good work. I enjoy reading your posts.!

Gary 19 , I did not make it personal, you did. Your statement "Could it be because by doing that YOU wouldn't be able to hide behind YOUR Miken" was taken very personally! Gary, if you cannot see that pitching slow pitch softball has become dangerous in today's world, especially when participating with the young adults out there today, then you and I will never be able to come to an accord.
Let me attempt to set the record straight with you: I pitch, have been doing so for nearly 40 years. I still play with one of my sons in the young adult league. I have not hooked up with a senior team here in Florida yet, but I played senior softball for 8 years in Vegas until I moved. Ask anyone there who knows me, they will tell you that I don't "hide behind my Miken" .
I have a suggestion! If it's controversy you want and desire, there is another board you should start posting on. It's theoldscout.com message board. Honestly, you will fit right in there.

Gary19, I personally don't care if you hit the middle when I am pitching. There's only a few senior players that I would really worry about, and you aren't one of them. This whole discussion is about a player apologizing after he hits the middle. All I said was don't bother. And just for the record, I never hit the middle when I am swinging a MikenII, I swing for the left field fence.

I have thouroughly enjoyed reading all these posts about safety in softball and the hitting the middle issue, and all the other posts about the equipment we are now playing with. And I agree with Einstein, keep your apologies to yourself when I am on the mound. It would be best for you to apologize to your pitcher rather than me.That's how it works. There is adrenaline, and competitiveness inherent in this game. You do me, I do you. That's how it works. All that said, I truly enjoy pitching, been doing it for a very long time. All of us who are around 60 years old can remember playing with wood bats. In Minnesota the fences were only 275 and it took a pretty good sized man to reach that fence. The aluminum bat changed that. And obviously things are still changing. It has become dangerous to pitch now. Not so much at our age level, but try pitching against 20 to 30 year olds using the newest technologies. Especially now that the doctored bat thing is so prevalent. It is so bad here in Northern Florida that St. John's County recreation is going to do away with all aluminum and composite bats. They are going to wood bats only at all levels of play. Softball comes full circle. I don't think it will fly, I heard that most of the teams that are currently playing here are not going to sign up for this. Anyway, it will keep me playing against the young guys. I'm cautiously rather excited by the prospect. I'll keep the board posted on this, the new league starts in a month.

Regarding the mat, I hav e been pitching now for (let's see, I started playing in 1969 and moved to Vegas in '73, and that's when I started pitching) , A long time. I do not like the mat, and I don't like the rules that go with it. As "Bossbandit" said, depending on where you stand on or off the rubber, a ball can cross the plate and NOT hit the mat. The real problem I personally have with the mat is that once a pitcher falls behind in the count he must then concentrate on throwing a strike, in some circumstances this can be dangerous, as that pitcher is sometimes not prepared to receive a ball back up the middle because of that concentration. I also don't like the plate being a strike. Those are the pitches that I hit up the middle, the short one on the plate. With the arc limits being what they are, that pitch on the front of the plate is low, and it gets hit back through the box low most of the time. Dangerous!
While I am on the subject of pitching, the other real problem we have is the bats. Due to the relative ease with which it is possible to "doctor" one of these new composite bats it has become a scary proposition to pitch. I recently moved to St. Augustine , Florida, and the only softball I am playing right now has been in a men's A league, a 6 home run league. I am currently sporting a black and blue mark the size of a basketball that I received from a one hopper right back at me. This was off a Doctored Synergy that the first 5 guys on the opposing team were all swinging, and once their home runs were up you know where they were going!. I don't know what can be done about the doctored bats, but in the young man's game I think the bat problem would be easier to fix by doing what Stoney has been saying, Add some weight to the bats, at least 10 ounces. Then it would be back to the real home run hitters doing their thing. Hey, sorry I got off the subject and started rambling.

I too have known Steve since I started playing senior softball in Las Vegas. I played against him and with him. It is very unfair what is happening with him. I am going to take a stand on this. I am not going to participate in any more SSUSA senior softball until this situation is rectified.

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